Callaecae Roscaithrera (Callaeci Medium Infantry)
|-|EB1= |-|EB2= EB1: Roscaithrera are armed with a local version of the celtic longsword, soliferrum javelins and protect themselves with an iron montefortino helmet and a caetra shield. EB2: Kinnetoi Kallaekoi are medium infantry from north west Iberia. Raised on a diet of feuds and duels these warriors are sturdy and resilient, and set about their bloody business with eager familiarity Description (Kal-ay-kay Ros-ket-rar-ah; "Callaeci Caetra-Bearers") - These men are practically the finest warriors the nobility of the Callaeci tribes can muster. Equipped with the best weapons the region has to offer - multiple soliferra all-iron javelins and a local development of the ubiquitous Celtic longsword - they are certainly good medium infantry, and a match for any warrior in their class, even if a bit lightly protected with just an iron helmet and a caetra shield. In times of peace they practice a kind of armed dance, similar to those practised in Britannia, which require a great deal of dexterity to do properly, effectively training them for combat. In war they march at an even step, and then raise a battle-song as they charge on their foe. Also, the rugged terrain of the Callaeci homeland means they are also used to skirmishing tactics in addition to more linear warfare, so while they are at a disadvantage against heavier enemies, in a straight fight they can use their versatility to even up the odds. Historically, the Callaeci were a brave and numerous group of tribes that made their home North of the Lusitani, across the river Douro. They arrived during the period of Celtic migrations, displacing or conquering existing cultures, and carved up kingdoms for themselves in an area roughly equivalent to Northern Portugal and present day Galicia (in Spain), which to this day still bears it's name. They were an independently-minded people who fought against other Iberian tribes, but later eagerly joined forces with some of them to stem the Roman tide. The lack of horse-related items that exist abundantly in the cultures around them, make us believe that they were almost exclusively foot-soldiers (though they may have, like the Saxons centuries later, ridden to the battlefield and dismounted for combat). Their equipment is very well attested in primary texts, and archaeological finds, notably the famous Callaeci warrior statues. -------------- Fog crowned cliffs and brine rich seas, a mountain realm of stone wrought homes where life is tough and rough as the rocks which abut the turquoise waves. This is the land of the Kallaekoi, folk of the fields and mountains who fight not for need or want, but because it is expected of them. They may take cattle in their raids, or plunder sheep, but the greatest prize to be seized is the honour of having stood in the field, faced your foe and made him flee. From the granite of their hill strewn land they carve statues of their finest warriors, who stand guard immortal upon the gates and ramparts of their hill-top homes. For as long as the granite warriors keep watch, the warriors of flesh and blood will fight. Historically the Kallaekoi were one of several Iron Age Iberian communities who belonged to what archaeologists term the castro culture. Castros, the Spanish for castle, were small hillforts which were abundant in northern Iberia during the Iron Age. One interesting feature of castros, in addition to their stone architecture, evidence for internal planning and, in the area of the Kallaekoi, bathhouses, was the enclosing wall of a castro was never expanded or enlarged after it had been constructed. Instead, unlike contemporary populations in British hillforts or Gallic oppida, the population of a castro would remain within the original confines of the walls. Thus castros typically could hold no more than 200 persons. Castros tended to be self-sufficient, with the surrounding landscape offering sufficient environments and resources that the only external requirements for groups such as the Kallaekoi were trade items or, more commonly, warfare. Warfare in this region appears to have been endemic. Warfare within Kallaekoi society was, considering the self-sufficient nature of their settlements, most likely conducted as part of social expectation which came with being male, rather than for the sake of enrichment or territorial conquest. We have a very good idea of what Kallaekoi warriors looked like on account of the statues they produced, such as the example from the Castro de Lesenho. In the 2nd and 1st centuries BC such statues appear to have adorned the entrances to castros, as well as the oppida which began to be constructed around this time. Typically they portray Kallaekoi warriors with a roundshield, sword and torc, although some, like the example from Sanfins, are also depicted with helmets. Usage The Roscaithrera are good but not particularly impressive swordsmen. Their role is to function as shock and flanking infantry in order to make full use of their swords. They are very effective against units with low armor and equipped with weapons with low lethality like most Iberian Units. However, their sword's lack of lethality will get them killed against heavy infantry or lethal swordsmen such as the Bataroas (Northern Gallic Swordsmen) although they are armed with armor-piercing(only in EB1) javelins to help them even the odds, Category:Units Category:Lusotannan Category:Karthadastim Category:Arverni Category:Aedui Category:Arevaci Category:Casse Category:Eleutheroi Category:Mercenary